Costilla County has a new sheriff. Commissioners appointed Deputy Joe Smith to the position on Monday.Smith replaces former Sheriff Danny Sanchez, who resigned Saturday after he, the undersheriff and three deputies were indicted . Watch News5's coverage of Sanchez's resignation below:According to the special Costilla County Commissioners meeting on Monday, Smith, one other deputy, and an inmate transportation officer are the only current employees of the sheriff's office.Before Smith's appointment to Interim Sheriff, the Costilla County Coroner had to fill the role, according to state statute. Smith will hold the position until the election for sheriff later this year.Background InformationThe 12th Judicial District Grand Jury has issued indictments for the now former sheriff, undersheriff, and three deputies in Costilla County. Watch News5's coverage of the indictments below:According to the grand jury, now former Costilla County Sheriff Danny Sanchez and former Deputy Keith Schultz were indicted on four counts of official misconduct and one count of abuse of a corpse for their handling of the discovery of unidentified human remains.Court documents say the remains were discovered in the Wild Horse Mesa area in October, 2024. They say now former Sheriff Sanchez and former Deputy Schultz took a skull from the scene, left other remains behind, and failed to properly report the discovery.The documents also say former Deputy Schultz put bones in a bag and left it unsecured on his desk. They say former Deputy Schultz went out on another call and when he came back, the bag was gone.Former Deputy Schultz was fired from the sheriff's office when he was arrested in a separate incident last year.Now former Sheriff Sanchez's son, Sergeant Caleb Sanchez, and Deputy Roland Riley were also indicted by the grand jury on counts of second and third-degree assault for use of force in an incident involving a community member having a mental health crisis.Court documents say the community member was unarmed and suffered a broken rib after being tased by Sergeant Sanchez during the incident. It says days later, Sergeant Sanchez said he was "too new" to understand what happened.The grand jury also indicted Undersheriff Cruz Soto on the following: four counts of official misconduct two counts of failing to intervene two counts of failure to report one count of third-degree assault related to that incidentUndersheriff Soto, Sergeant Sanchez and Deputy Riley have been placed on administrative leave.The indictments follow an investigation by the 12th Judicial District Attorney's Office. You can view the indictments below:Now former sheriff Sanchez:Sergeant Sanchez:Undersheriff Soto:Deputy Schultz:Deputy Riley:_______Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching. ...read more read less